My TBR was so long, I started a library!

The smells of wood and paper intermingled with hushed conversations; a person nose-deep into a book, their eyes and being in another world. Not a single sound but the click-clack of heels on wooden floors and rows of books surrounding you. It almost sounds like something of a past age.

Ah! What a wonderous combination of leisure and culture are books and libraries. Bringing this vibe back with a contemporary twist through ‘The Hyderabad Library’ is lawyer turned librarian Yajushi Jhabakh. What started with one shelf in a room has grown to a collection of about 4000 books carefully selected for the library housed in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.

Opening up on her journey, Jhabakh shares, “After I had my daughter, I felt all-consumed by motherhood. I wanted to do something that didn’t take me away from her; that I enjoyed and didn’t feel like a burden.”

Interestingly, when Yajushi began her tryst with lending books, she offered it for free through an app where she’d listed about 500 of her books and operated from her house. “Everyone says their TBR is long. My joke is, my TBR was so long, I started a library!” laughs the curator.

Figuring out and adopting a pick-and-drop model quickly became her USP, which was later incorporated to the library. “I know this model is convenient and keeps the reading experience going. But as a book person, I know a reader wants to touch and feel books,” says Yajushi. “We moved to this space a few months ago and that’s when we became subscription-based as well,” she adds.

The collection is carefully curated by Jhabakh after meticulous research through podcasts, blogs, bookstagram, and Fable. “We have books from different prize lists, such as Women’s Prize, Booker list; many that have been chosen by popular book clubs, such as Sonali Bendre’s or Twinkle Khanna’s or international reads. We also house imported editions of books that may not be easily available in India or perhaps quite expensive in general,” says Yajushi.

“Funny observation, men borrow a lot of nonfiction and women opt for fiction,” she laughs.

While Yajushi maintains it’s a passion project, The Hyderabad Library is on the cusp of revolutionising colony libraries. “We’re having setups at neighbourhood communities where we take the library to them for a day; so far the response has been amazing,” shares Jeet Jhabakh, her husband. “It’s the future of libraries; like a moving, travelling library concept,” he adds.

In many ways, motherhood is what gives the library direction. Recalling weekly bookstore visits with her mother, Yajushi says, “We would pick a book, sit at the cafe there, and both of us would just read. I want people to experience that without feeling the pressure to purchase books necessarily.” Quite unconsciously, Yajushi has shaped the space around what her daughter might cherish, from kid-friendly workshops to storytelling hours. There are also book clubs for adults among other workshops. “I don’t think one must look at libraries as businesses. Books expand our world. I want to create a community space where people come regularly and broaden their horizons,” she reflects.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Asra Ghouse

Asra Ghouse[email protected]